Under the Radar
by ramen-is-my-drug
Summary: After the fire at school, Maya, Zig, Tiny, and Grace decide to hang out at the Matlin residence. However, she cannot stop thinking about Miles despite being surrounded by her friends. When Grace starts to harbor resentment and suspicion towards Maya's complicated relationship with Miles, they get into their first fight. Could it blow up into something else? GRAYA.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, just felt inspired by the last episode to post this. Graya and Bonah are probably the ships I hope will turn romantic. Although, I do kind of crackship Grace with Zoe and Winston. This fic is definitely going to be super smutty but I obviously added a ton of canon-esque backstory to it. I also can't help but mention that I'm super mad I can't add Tiny as a character. But letting you know he's definitely in there too. Hope you all enjoy! **

Maya Matlin could not help but be lost in euphoria as her fingertip circled around the rim of her glass while her friends continued to talk about the most recent incident at Degrassi.

After the fire at the school, Zig and Maya thought nothing would be better than to go back to the house with some poutine. They figured they should invite Grace and Tiny along and give them the scoop on the fire. Maya was not as talkative about the event as Zig was, since she did witness who started it. The sleeveless boy did not give much insight into the incident either, just connected the events to his obvious worry for the girl he was romantically interested in. The blonde friend did have guilt pent up inside her, but she felt any behavioral sign of her true feelings would somehow lead her to accidentally reveal that Miles was the one who started the fire in the first place. She was extremely relieved to find out that no one was hurt, especially Frankie, Winston, and Zoe.

It would have killed Miles if he was responsible for any damage to his younger sister, his best friend, and his ex girlfriend. But instead, he is probably enjoying himself right now with his family. Well, that was the last text message Maya got before she got to her house anyway. Everything before was about all the falling out that happened between Zoe and Frankie. Miles only texted her about because he had no idea how to comfort his little sister when she explained what happened and thought Maya could be of help, especially since she's had a similar experience Frankie's had with the same girl. She was honestly happy that Miles seemed to be confronting his demons and caring for his family. Maya liked this new side to him.

"I'm honestly just happy that Zoe is okay," Zig said.

"We know. You've mentioned it for the hundredth time today and will probably get to the thousandth time before Maya gets out of her weird trance," Grace retorted.

"She's been like that all day. That dopey grin did not even break there when we were walking away from our burning campus," Zig added as the butt of the joke rolled her eyes.

Those eyes widened in fear as Tiny jokingly pointed out, "Maya probably was smiling then because she burned down that hell hole."

"What-t no!" Maya winced.

"I didn't take you for a pyromaniac, Matlin," Grace teased.

"I would never burn down the school!" the beat red girl exclaimed as she accidentally slammed her fist against the counter.

"Sounds like something a pyromaniac would say," Grace taunted as the guys started to laugh.

"Fine, you caught me redhanded. I totally started the fire. You really nailed me there, guys. Case closed," the bespecled girl babbled as the guys snorted at her awkwardness while the girl with the blue streaks could not help but grow suspicious of her friend's apparent nervousness.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. As long as you order the pizza," Grace proposed in her purposely ambiguous tone.

Maya had no choice but to get the courage to retort with, "I'd rather go to jail," before her phone started to buzz. The infatuated girl's heart raced as her expectations of the text message being sent from Miles were met.

_Thank you so much. Im on my way. _

Miles and his younger siblings were not ready to face their father yet. Although Maya knew her friends were not exactly fond of him, she had enough faith they would be cordial enough to him if they were all under her roof. It would just be for a couple hours so Frankie, Miles, and his younger brother could find the courage to confront their father together with their mother.

"By the way, do you guys mind if Miles and his siblings come over?" she admitted.

"As if our opinion matters. Nothing gets in the way of you and Money Bags," Grace answered as both Zig and Tiny snorted.

"Is he buying the pizza, though?" Tiny asked.

"What the hell is your problem? He is going through a lot right now. His sister, his best friend, and a classmate barely escaped a fire today," Maya angrily confronted, directing her frustration at Grace, as she stood up from her seat.

"People could have died in that fire and your only concern is for how Miles is dealing with all this?" Grace retorted. How could she have been so enamored with this guy? He literally is a time bomb waiting to explode with his designer clothes. Whatever self-destructive decision he made, Maya willingly lets herself be dragged down with him. Her unbroken loyalty almost pissed her off. "And why aren't they cooling down in that huge ass pool of theirs anyway," she added, remembering the blueprint of the mansion that belonged to the IP address of Zoe Rivas's blackmailer.

"Wait, how do you know they have a pool?" Zig asked.

"I was the one who leaked the poolhouse video, remember?" Grace quickly shot back, thankful that she has had more than one connection to the Hollingsworth estate. She was not about to tell her friends that she helped the cheerleaders put up the site for their nudes.

"I'm sure Daddy Hollingsworth would probably send them to a nice resort or something for what happened today," Tiny posed.

"You guys have no idea what is going on with them and their awful dad. He's the reason why Miles started-" she stopped herself before she confessed of Miles's crime.

"What did Miles start?" Grace followed suit by immediately standing up as well. Her suspicions of the firestarter were growing. But Maya knew she had said too much and fell immediately silent, thinking of a possible excuse to use. Zig was too invested in his own mess with Zoe while Tiny could literally not care less for the two friends to take sides on the situation in front of them.

"Maya!" she was now starting to get annoyed.

"Why Miles started texting me," Maya finished, relieved she could come with a believable phrase ender.

However it wasn't a phrase clever enough to satisfy her friend's calculating expression. Grace scoffed, "You know if you want to bang Miles just kick us out already. I mean you've practically committed perjury for that shitlord's hit and run."

"It's not like that. And you're not one to talk," Maya hinted.

_She could have not known_, Grace thought to herself. Then she realized Frankie, the girl who Zoe kicked off the cheer squad for not cooperating in the sexting, was Miles's little sister. _Fuck this six degrees of separation bullshit_.

The door rang.

Grace collected her belongings and was about the excuse herself before Maya said, "You're leaving?"

"Look, I don't know how you did it Zig, but I am not about to compete with scrawny Chuck Bass for your attention. Sorry but I honestly have better things to do," she snapped, refusing to give Maya full eye contact. Tiny could not help but snort at Grace's nickname for the oldest Hollingsworth while Zig hated to be reminded of being at the short end of Maya and Miles's clusterfuck of a relationship.

"We are not leaving things like this. Tiny or Zig, could you please get the door? Me and Grace need to settle this," Maya ordered. Tiny decided to take one for the team and be the first one to greet the Hollingsworth's.

"There's nothing to be settled," Grace said before following Tiny since he was heading for the front door.

"You left your laptop in my room," Maya reminded before Grace stopped in defeat.

"Fuck," she muttered to herself.

As the two girls were in Maya's bedroom, Grace immediately grabbed her laptop while Maya was determined to block the door.

"Do you honestly think you can stop me from getting out of here? You were there when I got Zig all butthurt because beat him at arm wrestling," she reminded her friend of her physical strength.

"So you'd rather force yourself out of here then talk things out?"

"I honestly don't have enough energy to call you out on your bullshit and you probably don't have the attention span to actually listen to it, since your beloved is downstairs right now."

"My bullshit? That I'm worried about him? I didn't even go through with lying about Miles's hit and run. I only started to because I saw how afraid he was of telling his dad. Okay, fine I care about him. Sorry I can't be aloof and tough like the tech savvy Grace Cardinal," Maya snarled. "Who only commits crimes like distributing child pornography when it involves money."

"Holy shit is that what Miles told you? I just created the site because Zoe Rivas was desperate to hold onto her precious cheer squad. The girl just went through a sexual assault trial. Sure money was definitely a factor but I honestly felt bad for her. That's definitely worth a lot more than whatever excuse you've bought into for Miles burning down our school," Grace decided now would be the right time to reveal her assumption. Maya's surprised finally clarified it.

"He did not-"

"Maya, I'm not stupid," Grace asserted as Maya lowered her head in defeat. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone. Not even the guys. You're lucky Zig is too hung up on Zoe to figure it out while Tiny could give two less of shits about your drama."

"Thank you," Maya quietly said as she shyly made eye contact with her friend.

"Whatever. Your precious Miles is safe. Now you and him can be the fucking Bonnie and Clyde of Degrassi. That is if our school isn't totally in ashes,"

"You know, I don't see you giving Zig that much shit for liking Zoe. She's fucking responsible for Degrassi nudes after all," Maya ranted. "And yet you're picking on me about my relationship with Miles? You weren't like this when we first met,"

"Because I didn't care about you before," Grace admitted which caught both of them off guard. She placed her laptop back on the bed and walked towards her taken aback friend. "I care about Zig, too. But I don't mind Zoe because she isn't harming any of my friends. Miles on the other hand." Now only a foot away from Maya, inching closer and closer towards the shorter friend, "he's absolutely toxic for you, Maya. And what I hate most about him," until Grace placed her hand on her flushed cheeks, "is that you're so dedicated to him anyway."

The blonde friend was at a loss for words as her heart seemed to practically pound out of her chest. It did not matter anyway, since Grace was obviously not looking for a reply as she placed her pierced mouth on Maya's silent one. It was only for a brief moment, though. The dark-haired girl pulled her head back to stare intently into the girl's bespecled blue eyes, trying to read her reaction. That is until Maya pulled Grace's face back into hers, making sure the kiss would not be as chaste this time. And it certainly would not be.

The blonde girl removed Grace's leather jacket as Grace did the same with Maya's denim jacket. There were so many new sensations the two girls felt as they were exploring each other's mouths. Grace aggressively yet softly biting on Maya's swollen lips, her lip ring soothing them as it glided against her tender pink skin. Although Grace would never be caught dead in cherry lip gloss, she loved tasting Maya's. After the girls were getting comfortable with each other's mouths, the taller one had hoisted the slender legs of the petite one around her waist. Then she pressed her against the door. Wanting more, the smaller girl had wrapped her legs more tightly around the loose black shirt. To her dismay, Grace left Maya's lips for but then was immediately pleased again when they were pressed against her neck. The blonde girl could not help but gasp as she felt a little nip on her collarbone. Maya felt a warm pool building up between her thighs and in response started to rock her hips to create friction.

The pierced mouth started to smirk as she commanded into her ear, "Alright, I get the hint. Untangle your legs."

Maya quickly complied, which allowed Grace to let her legs down and unbutton her jeans. She had never allowed anyone's hand ever reach for her zipper, let alone take it down. The farthest the tenth grader had gone was Harry guiding her for a blow job. Miles had not even went under Maya's bra. So it completely surprised Maya that she was eager for Grace taking charge.

"Spread your legs a little bit and turn around to face the door," Grace instructed once as the obedient girl immediately followed her directions.

Maya was impatient for what was coming next as she watched Grace put her rings on the bureau next to the door but satisfied once she felt a rough hand go through her damp panties. Her own hands tightly gripped against the door frame as any sort of means to cope with the overwhelming sensations Grace's hand was creating as it rubbed in between her thighs. Panting, she started to arch her back as it was being tickled by the other rough hand moving up her back that stopped once it found the clasp to Maya's bra.

_There was no way..._

She unhooked her bra, one-handed. Maya was nearly impressed, but she marveled more at how she was reaching her peak. She only got the blonde girl closer as her other hand that unhooked her bra started kneading her left breast under the unfastened bra. Her calloused digits gently pinching her nipple with the combination of the other fingertips directly rubbing her clit made Maya moan and lose her grip on the door frame. Once Maya's free hand accidentally hit the door handle, she quickly reverted it back to the frame.

"Not too loud, you have guests downstairs," Grace's hot breath whispered into the flustered girl's ear.

Her hand released her tingling breast so she could drape her around the shorter girl's upper frame, Grace positioning her left hand on Maya's right shoulder while Grace's upper arm was resting on her left shoulder. This new position was surprisingly comfortable to Maya, although her boobs did miss that hand.

"Faster" she panted.

"Okay, Princess," the sarcastic friend teased as she quickened the pace, making the flustered almost absolutely lose herself. Instinctively, Maya lowered her head to bite on the loosest skin of Grace's forearm as she grinded herself against the fast motion of Grace's hand. Finally Maya came and bit harder in compensation for wanting to scream.

"Damn Matlin,"

The door flew open.

The two girls shot up their heads to find Winston. Once the two girls processed Winston's presence as Winston processed the situation in front of him, Maya ran to her bed so she could fasten her pants as Grace grabbed the shocked boy by the collar and shut the door after him.

"Why the hell did you bring him in here?" Maya said wrapped her arms around the loose bra so she could press it against her upper body.

"To make sure he won't tell anyone of what he just witnessed," Grace retorted as her hand was covered over Winston's mouth. Once she released him, Winston still was too shocked to utter anything.

"Wait why are you in my house anyway? I never invited you!" Maya realized.

"F-frankie gave me your address because she felt if Miles got to be under the same roof of his lover, her boyfriend could come too. Miles was going to tell you when they got here but because you two were too busy 'fighting,'" Winston air-quoted, "upstairs, he didn't get the chance to ask your permission."

"Miles and Maya aren't together," Grace corrected as Maya's heart dropped.

"Well, I obviously figured that one out when I caught you fingering her," Winston said.

Grace gripped him by the collar once again until the scared boy excessively apologized.

"Why did you come up here if you were under the pretense that we were fighting?" Maya asked.

"Wait one second," Winston said before opening the door and yelling, "Safe," before closing it again. Thank God Maya's parents were not home. "That was for your own good, trust me."

"You better spill nerd before I make you feel unsafe," Grace threatened.

"So abrasive. Anyway, everyone downstairs was worried about you since we heard the door handle shake and you scream. Everyone was concerned that the argument had escalated, which it clearly did in a roundabout way. Miles wanted to go up there which made Zig want to go up there. So Tiny felt picking a member of an unrelated third party would have been best to mediate the fight upstairs. They gave me two words, 'safe' or 'unsafe,' to yell out depending on how badly the fight was," Winston explained. "God first I catch Miles and Tristan and now you two. Who is next, Tiny and Zig?"

"Or your girlfriend and Zoe," Grace shot back as Winston narrowed his bespecled eyes at her.

"As a member of an unrelated third party, can I please go back downstairs?" Winston begged.

"Not until you swear you'll swear to never repeat what you just saw," Grace demanded.

"Come on, I'm literally best friends with the guy who is practically in love with Maya. And then my girlfriend is the sister of my best friend. And then I'm kind of friends with the guy who is getting over the heartbreak of my best friend," Winston ranted.

"No one," Grace repeated.

"Fine," he sighed as he opened the door. "Just please go back downstairs, everyone wants to know what toppings you prefer on the pizza."

"Okay we will. And for a member of an unrelated third party, you have weaved yourself a complicated web there," Grace said into the distance before closing the door.

Maya now froze in realization of what had just happened between her and her friend. Grace plopped herself next to Maya, acting a lot more casual than the bewilderment the blonde girl had.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Maya confronted as she turned her head to face her.

"Oh shit, this is the first time you've been with a girl," Grace realized.

"Does that mean I'm gay now?" she debated as she stared wide-eyed into the distance. "Wait, you denied you were lesbian after you got that cheerleader's number."

"No I did not deny it. I just didn't confirm it either," she replied.

"So are you in the closet?"

"No, I'm just not as vocal about my sexuality unless I have to be. I just prefer staying under the radar at school," Grace admitted.

"Now I can see why you were willing to help with _Oomfchat_," Maya hinted.

"No, I'm not really into cheerleaders. I wasn't even really attracted to the lesbian on the squad. I'd probably pick Zoe if I had to choose," she shrugged as Maya started to get self-consciousness.

"Did you hook up with that cheerleader at the competition?"

"Yeah, we're actually dating now," Grace deadpanned.

"What?" she cried.

"I'm kidding. Besides, it's not like you would care since you're still in love with Money Bags," Grace replied.

"Okay, I'm definitely not in love with him. Look, I don't even know what I'm feeling. I didn't even know I was attracted to you," Maya said and yelled in her pillow, "God this is so confusing."

"Look, you don't have to figure it all out today. Hell not even next week. If you want this to be a one-time thing, I can respect that. I can deal with just being your friend," Grace offered. "I still have Gloria Chin's number."

Maya raised her head back up from the pillow and leaned her face towards Grace's so she could kiss her lips again. Once the blonde girl pulled away, she admitted, "Is it bad that I don't want you to call Gloria Chin?"

"A little selfish. But that's okay, I'm selfish too for not wanting you to ever talk to Miles again," Grace admitted.

"Well, I can't do that. I can promise you that I won't get back together with him until I sort out all of my feelings," Maya pledged.

"That works," Grace said before looking at her arm. "How the hell am I going to explain the bite mark on my arm?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I should've asked if you were okay with that," Maya regretfully said.

"No, I find them hot. I just never knew you were a freak like that," she teased. "Besides, you're going to have to explain yourself with that hickey on your neck."

"Crap, you're right. Unless we come downstairs super gruff-looking. Maybe they'll be too afraid to ask us," Maya concluded as they both laughed.

"So that's who Chuck Bass is," Zig said as him, Tiny, and the Hollingsworth clan just finished the first episode of _Gossip Girl_. Winston had to leave in the middle of the episode because he said he was starting to feel under the weather.

"Yeah, why did you want to know so badly?" Frankie asked.

"Because Grace said that your older brother was the uglier version of that guy," Tiny answered smugly as everyone laughed besides the subject of the joke.

"Let's watch the next episode," Zig hastily suggested.

"I want to be a rich white girl in New York City," Tiny said as the second episode played.

**Hope you enjoyed it! Although it was smutty, I did try to add some comedic relief here and there. Please let me know what you think in the comments below! If you want this to be kept just a one-shot or a story with a few chapters, feel free to tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to those who decided to read this fic and let me know how you felt about it! I guess I went with making this story a couple more chapters. Hopefully you guys are okay with that :)**

On top of the guilt he had felt for blackmailing Zoe and making things practically worse for his girlfriend because of that, he now had to keep a secret from Frankie. Although, maintaining his promise was getting easier as the few days had passed since he's been only hanging out with Frankie. Due to the fire, school was not in session until the administration had figured out where to resume the rest of the semester. Only hanging out with his girlfriend and listening to all her family drama had given his mind a break from the usual gossip he heard in the hallways. He was starting to even forget what he had witnessed at Maya's house on Saturday night. That is until, when he was at the Hollingsworth house, Miles had mentioned a concert he was planning on inviting Maya to.

"So, do you think she would go?" Miles asked. "I mean they're bands that I'm not sure Maya would like. I've never even listened to the bands."

Winston went absolutely silent. He did not want to discourage his best friend but he did not want to set him up for failure either. Unfortunately, he knew there would be a time when he would have to choose between those two methods when giving Miles advice about pursuing Maya. Well, technically three. He could reveal the truth if he could handle the possibility of Grace Cardinal ripping his little Chu's with her bare hands.

"I think it's a good idea because the venue is super lowkey. You don't want to freak her out with super expensive tickets if she's not even your girlfriend," Frankie said.

It was so weird for the honorary Hollingsworth member to witness his girlfriend give her older brother relationship advice. And his best friend actually taking it. Although it was nice to see the closest people in his life talking instead of bickering like they usually did, he wished Maya did not have to be the current subject.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm gonna text her. No should I call her instead? I'm still asking her out," he contemplated. "You know what I'll call her."

Miles took his cell phone out of the pocket and started looking for the contacts until he quickly put his phone back down and started to stare aimlessly at it. The couple in the room to stared at each other in surprise at the obviously apparent nervousness of the oldest Hollingsworth boy.

"No, I'll call her. God, I've never been this nervous," he sheepishly admitted.

"Don't be. She's totally going to say yes. Right, Winston?" Frankie encouraged as Winston nearly winced.

Not realizing that his girlfriend and his best friend were actually waiting for a response, Frankie asked, "Winston!"

"N-no yeah of course. Maya's into you, man," he lied. So that was the route to bullshit Winston took.

"I hope so. I guess I'll find out soon," Miles smiled as he dialed again and put the phone to his ear.

Actually Winston was nervous that Miles decided to call Maya instead, fearing that the sound of Maya and Grace fucking would somehow be heard if she picked up. So to distract himself, he decided to pour himself a glass of water from the fridge.

"Hey, Maya," Miles began in a shakey tone. "N-no I'm fine!" So she could sense his nervousness from the other end as well. "I swear, I'm not calling you from the police station or anything." _Why the hell would he say that? _"I just wanted to know if you're free tonight, I got some extra concert tickets from Winston. It's some small venue in the city and the bands are playing are like a blend of reggae and rock. I don't know, I thought it could be fun."

Winston was nearly offended at the sad attempt of Miles trying to keep his invite lowkey. The bespecled boy was self-aware of the fact that he did not give off the impression that he was the type of guy who casually goes concert hopping in his spare time. He was the president of the comic book and anime club at his school.

"Oh you're already going with your friends?" he paused waiting for her reply. "Yeah that'd be cool. I was going with Winston anyway... Okay see you."

"What the hell why would you name drop me like that? Next time you ask her out, just be up front about it instead so you don't have to lie so badly," Winston yelled once Miles had ended the phone call.

Now Winston had found another alternative to advising Miles on this particular dilemma. He could encourage him to get straight to the point with Maya so she could turn him down easier. Then not only could Miles move on, but Winston could have a peace of mind about this situation.

"Dude, I panicked. I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Okay, the excuse could be possible. I mean I could see someone who wears a button up with various fruit on them have extra tickets to a reggae concert," Frankie joked.

"Well, I'm glad you find his story believable. Because you're going to have to come up with another excuse as to why I'm not at the concert I invited you to when you two meet up," Winston challenged.

"No you can't back out now. Do you know how awkward that would be?" Miles said. At the moment, Winston suddenly preferred the friend that pretended to not care what anyone thought. Only because he really did not want to go to that concert, where Maya and potentially Grace were at. Lying would be so much harder if the subjects of the secret were under the same roof as him.

"We'll go with you Miles, don't worry," Frankie assured as the girlfriend commandingly held Winston's hand. At the moment, he also preferred the girlfriend that could not stand her older brother.

"Thanks. This really means a lot to me," Miles smiled as the guilt grew in the pits of Winston's soul. "I'll make it up to you guys, I swear."

_Could make it up by build the neuralyzer that was used in Men In Black? _

Maya almost lost herself in the audience moving their heads and bodies to the relaxing tempo of the band. Her and her friends came late since they all decided to grab food before arriving to the venue. But there is really no such thing as arriving late to a place like this. Before the tiny blonde girl drowned in the wave of people, she felt the familiar rough hand grab hers, almost sending shivers down her spine. This was the first type of physical contact Maya had with her friend since Saturday night.

Now that she had some time to reflect on hooking up with Grace, she was complete a nervous wreck trying to act casual with her, especially in front of Zig and Tiny. It was easy to do on Saturday since Maya hadn't really given the experience into much thought and all they did was watch a couple episodes of _Gossip Girl_ and eat pizza. Grace had covered the bite mark with her leather jacket as Maya covered her hickey with concealer that night. So no one really suspected anything from the two. Maya did wonder how her friend in her rolled up flannel was going to explain the mark if Zig and Tiny spotted it on her bare arms. Fortunately, the room was dimly-lit enough that they probably would not spot it. Hopefully Miles would not spot if he ended up showing up tonight.

After the group found a space to stand in, they joined the audience in collectively bopping their heads to the beat as Grace let go of Maya's hand. Although she knew it was for the best, she wished they could have held it for a while more. As the song progressed and Maya got used to dodging beers and the haze of marijuana, she found enough room to start dancing. Soon, a pair of hands landed on her hips. To her disappointment, they were not Grace's as she caught her scowling at the random stranger from the side. Once the girl flipped her blonde curls and turn around to face the owner of the hands, the stranger was a black-haired guy wearing a Bob Marley tank. She was almost offended.

As he tried to pull her in for an unwanted kiss, she was now close enough to smell the alcohol on him. Finally, Maya pushed herself away from the guy and yelled "Fuck off! before pressing herself against Grace. After both Zig and Tiny barricaded themselves from the guy trying to harass their friend, the guy left defeated. Then they all adjusted themselves back into the actual music. Coaxed by the rush from the atmosphere, Maya grinded against Grace. She did not have to be too cautious in front of Zig and Tiny, since it was all under the pretense of not getting unwanted attention from some drunk guy. Besides Tiny was all invested all of his attention to the girl he started dancing with while Zig's eyes were turned in the opposite direction of the two girls. It was because a couple of guys started to slam their bodies against one another. Once the tempo quickened, the closed blue-eyed girl was harshly pulled back.

"A mosh pit at a reggae concert? Are you fucking kidding me?" the angry dark-haired girl yelled as she kept Maya behind her.

By default, Zig and Tiny joined with the rest of the crashing bodies as the two girls rolled their eyes and laughed. After the two girls locked eyes, the brown-eyed girl immediately broke it by intertwining her ringed fingers with the blue-eyed girl's and lead her further away from the mosh pit. Once Grace had stopped and turned back to scan the distance between their spot and the area they left, she let go of Maya's hand and used it to put a lock of the blonde girl's hair behind her ears. The blue eyes instinctively closed as she waited for the other girl's lips. Soon the loud music began to fade between them. Since she had changed to a piercing that did not cover her lip like the one from Saturday, Maya did not realize how soft Grace's lips were. Her arms wrapped around Grace's neck as a signal for a deeper kiss. She complied by thrusting her tongue into Maya's mouth, begging for entrance. She happily complied.

Their brief moment of pleasure was ended by beer splashing over them. They both shot up their heads but their bodies were still entangled. Although they were relieved Zig and Tiny had not spotted them, they were absolutely annoyed at the stranger who prematurely interrupted their kiss. His face was absolutely apologetic, too.

"I am so sorry! I-"

"Whatever," Grace rolled her eyes, refusing to let him finish as she whispered into Maya's ear, "Let's go the bathroom."

The blonde girl nodded her head and grabbed Grace's hand so they would not lose each when trying to get out of the crowd. As they managed to exit the pit, they turned around to see Zig and Tiny still enjoying themselves. Although it was no longer necessary, the girls refused to let go of each other's hands as they went back upstairs to the main bar. Until Maya spotted the back of Miles's head talking to Winston and Frankie in front of the outside smoking patio.

Grace was confused as to why her fingers were no longer tangled with Maya's until she spotted the trio as well. Winston had stared wide-eyed to their direction, since he was the only one who spotted their mild form of PDA. Soon, the Hollingsworth siblings caught on and Miles turned to make eye contact with Maya. He waved and started walking toward their direction.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Grace asked, not caring if she showed her expression of displeasure.

"I might've invited them," Maya admitted as she waved at Miles.

"Are you kidding me?" Grace's sighed.

"He actually asked to come with him and I told him I was going anyway. I felt bad so I told we could all hang out a bit. I swear I didn't mean anything by... Hey guys!" she quickly tried to spill before they could all be within earshot.

"Hey, Maya. Grace," he greeted as both Frankie and Winston politely smiled. "How's the lineup so far? And why are you wet?"

"It's alright. There was actually a mosh pit going down there. We left before we got caught up in it," Maya said. "But we were a little too late when some guy accidentally poured beer on us."

"A mosh pit at a reggae concert? Seriously?" Miles retorted.

"That's what Grace said," Maya laughed.

"Well, I'm sure Bob Marley is rolling in his grave right now," Winston added as they all laughed.

"Yikes, what happened to your arm?" Frankie directed at Grace, still trying to politely keep the conversation going but curious nonetheless. Maya, along with Winston, winced at her attempt.

"Probably from that fight you and Maya had a couple nights ago, huh?" Miles jokingly suggested as the members' of the conversation widened their eyes behind their frames even more.

"Something like that," Grace smirked as Tiny and Zig walked into their group.

"Long time no see, Chuck Bass," Zig greeted as everyone snorted at his remark. "I'm surprised you decided to slum it down here."

"Very clever, Novak. I'm surprised to see you're wearing sleeves for once," Miles smugly retorted back as everyone started to laugh, even added with a "Ooooh!" from Tiny.

"Hey, Maya could I talk to you?" Miles directly asked as Maya's heart dropped. Winston almost wanted him to cringe at his blunt remark. He respected Miles's frankness, especially since it would pressure Maya to give him a direct response, but he wished he was at least have better timing. Everyone grew quiet at his forward, making the members of these separate groups uncomfortable.

Before Maya could think of response Grace scoffed, "You can't even wait a minute before dragging her into your bullshit."

"Excuse me? You're the one who kept her upstairs for twenty minutes because you threw a tantrum," Miles retorted as both Zig and Tiny were preparing themselves to defend their friend.

Grace wanted to put this entitled prick in his place. But watching the bespecled girl's despondent expression, she had a change of heart. She knew dragging this on for any longer would ruin the evening not only for Maya, but for everyone else. So she decided to restrain herself from lashing out against Miles Hollingsworth for the night.

"Fair enough," she concluded, with her hands jokingly up. Her surrender had not only baffled her friends, but surprised Miles and Winston. All she wanted was Maya's facial discouragement to change, and it did to absolute bewilderment. Grace could deal with bewilderment. She bid her farewell.

"Where are you going?" Maya asked, unsure if the dark-haired girl was mad or not.

"Bathroom to wash off," she truthfully answered as she turned back around to walk off.

"Well, I better come with you. Miles, you don't mind, right?" Maya asked, looking up at the tall boy. The dark-haired girl could not help but be pleasantly surprised at what she overheard.

"No, yeah you probably don't want to smell of cheap beer for the rest of the night," Miles suggested.

"Definitely. We'll meet you guys at the pit," Maya called out before leaving the group awkwardly together like she and Grace when they all came over.

It was a quiet walk to the bathroom but once they were in the long line of girls waiting, Maya had asked, "You're not mad at me, right?"

"I mean a little annoyed that you invited him but I get it's because you're so damn nice," Grace admitted. "And still confused."

"Well, thank you," Maya said, gently grabbing Grace's upper arm with her hands. "For understanding and not releasing the dogs on Miles."

"Yeah, whatever Blondie," was all she could muster with her flushed cheeks.

When they finally got to the entryway of the bathroom, they decided to cut through since they only wanted to clean up at the sink. They took the two available sinks adjacent to each and wetted the napkins from the paper towel dispenser in between them.

"I just got this dress last weekend, too," Maya sighed as she cleaned off the stain on the back of her dress.

Grace could not help but stare at the dark rouge material that clung nicely to her petite frame. It surprised her on how much she appreciated the smaller girl's body since she always preferred curvier girls. And not the big boobs and huge ass with a super tiny waist that most people considered the only acceptable form of "curvy." Although that was nice as well. But she usually was attracted to thicker girls. Maya was an exception to her rule.

"It's okay, I'm sure if you can't fix that dress, there will be other gazillion velvet dresses you can find. Since the demand among teenage girls is desperately trying to be edgy," Grace retorted, not realizing how harsh that sounded.

"Ouch," Maya said, cupping her hands under the running faucet before flicking the water onto a surprised Grace.

"Seriously, Matlin?" Grace half-smiled.

"Sorry, you missed a spot," she playfully teased.

In return, Grace overflowed her hands with water before throwing at Maya. But since she was ready for her attack, the blonde girl had ducked. So the water had unfortunately hit the girl next to Maya's sink.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" the girl, probably in her early twenties, had yelled, before Grace took Maya's and ran, restraining themselves from laughing until they were out of the bathroom.

Laughing all the way out of the bathroom, Grace sneaked a glance at Maya. That glance turned into pure awe as she admired the blonde girl's smile and crinkling eyes. _I could honestly find myself falling hard for her. _She immediately hated herself for catching that thought.

Letting go of Maya's hand turned her giddiness into a fading smile. She looked to a somber Grace.

"I could play nice with Miles because I don't want to ruin anyone's night, especially yours," she confessed, making Maya's heart flutter at _especially yours_. "But my tolerance is wearing thin for that kid. And it doesn't help that you still like him. I can't compete for your feelings, Maya."

"Grace, I-"

"I'm simply being honest. If we continue this any longer, it'll be harder to just stay friends with you. So I'll make things easy for you and leave. Now you can go have your private 'talk' with him," Grace said as she headed for the exit. "Just tell the guys I didn't feel well or something."

Once the rest of the group were getting comfortable in the pit, Miles took out a joint. As he lit it, Frankie and Winston were the first to roll their eyes as she pressed herself more into her boyfriend's body.

When Miles noticed their annoyance, he defended, "What? It's my last one. At least I'm not sulking in my bedroom." His clueless friend was already at the losing end in his fight for Maya.

"Have fun trying to explain that to Maya. She's going to be pissed," Winston yelled over the music.

In realization, Miles finally said, "Shit, you're right." Without taking a hit, he quickly got Zig and Tiny's attention, "Hey, do you guys want this?"

Zig shook his head as Tiny said, "No way. I'd get caught with that within seconds."

"Come on, no one can see us here. I've smoked plenty of times without getting caught at places like this,"

"Yeah because they don't profile rich white boys," Tiny asserted before he started to walk his way out of the crowd. Zig followed his friend.

"Whatever, man," Miles called out. He then offered the unlit joint to some guy in a Jamaican beanie who happily took it.

"Do you think I should try to find Maya?" the sober boy asked in Winston's ear.

Miles's best friend wanted to say yes. There was a likely chance if he sought out for Maya, he could catch her in an intimate moment with Grace and then this whole thing could be over. But he had some sort of responsibility for at least maintaining the two girls' privacy. It would be considerate to say the least.

"Never mind. I see them," he interjected, solving Winston's temporary internal dilemma. "Actually just Maya. Thank God, that moody friend of hers is so annoying. I don't know why she hangs out with her."

Unfortunately, Winston knew why.

"Hey I think I'm going to catch up her up there instead. Wish me luck," he yelled out before walking away.

As Maya approached her two friends, Zig immediately asked, "Where's Grace?"

"She was getting super tired," she lied. "Actually I'm starting to get tired myself. I think I'm going to head home,"

"But you just got here," Miles said, overhearing her last sentence.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm honestly not in a concert mood," Maya admitted, not taking Miles's bait.

"We can leave now if you want," Zig offered.

"No, it's fine. I don't want to end your fun night so quickly,"

"I can drive you home," Miles quickly offered. Zig stopped himself from rolling his eyes because he was not completely opposed to the idea. At least he would have a clear conscious if she safely got home, despite not liking the driver.

"I can take public transportation. I don't want to make you, Winston, and Frankie leave so early either,"

"It's no problem at all. Besides, this isn't exactly our thing," Miles admitted as both Tiny and Zig snorted.

"You didn't have a problem when-" Tiny was about to humorously reveal Miles's possession of the joint before Zig hit him in the arm to stop him.

"Maya, you should honestly go. Miles's car is a lot quicker and safer," Zig tried to convince.

"I guess so. Okay, I guess I will see you later at home then. Remember, curfew is at eleven. Bye, Tiny," Maya said before waving at them, letting herself be guided by Miles so he could pull Frankie and Winston from the pit.

The car ride was quiet for Maya and Miles on the way to the Matlin residence. Winston and Frankie did provide background noise as they were talking about the latest chapter update from the _Attack On Titan _manga. The oldest Hollingsworth would tell them to quiet down, but then it would highlight the dead silence between him and Maya. He had a million questions to ask her. But just questions that were better left asked privately. For example, he wanted to know why she had such a forlorn expression. He knew it was more than her tiredness, a reason he did not believe for her wanting to leave. Grace had probably bitched at her some more about something trivial.

What the hell could they honestly be fighting about? He had an idea that it could be about him, since she made it abundantly clear of her dislike for him. Maybe Maya confronted her about the Degrassi nudes, since he did tell her the computer savvy girl was involved. Whatever it was, he hoped she would eventually tell him. She was one to never hide what she is thinking for too long. Or at least that is what the ex boyfriend had thought anyway.

As they pulled up to Maya's house, she turned to him with a faint smile, "Thank you so much for the ride. I'll pay you back in gas money next time I see you."

"Don't worry about it, you're on the way anyway," Miles said.

"I really appreciate it anyway. It was nice seeing you guys," Maya said as she opened the door and got out of the car.

"Bye, Maya," Frankie said as Winston added a "See ya."

"Bye, Miles," Maya concluded with before closing the door.

"Are you waiting for something?" Winston asked as he noticed instead of Miles driving off, he watched his eyes focused on the blonde girl walking to her house.

"It's rude if I don't wait for her to get to her house," he said.

"Since when are you all chivalrous?" Frankie lightly chuckled.

"Hey, I'm chivalrous enough to not kick you out for that smartass comment," he retorted back.

"Whatever you say, Miles," Frankie rolled her eyes.

_What was bothering her? _he said as he carefully watched the girl get into her house before driving off.

**Thank you so much for reading! Sorry for the sort of cliffhanger! Let me know what you thought of the second chapter! **


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